A Cultural Study of British Tourists' Views of Kyoto and Their Ideological Backgrounds, Focusing on Meiji Period

2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 25511007
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: 文化学
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University
• Principal Investigator: NOGUCHI Yuko 京都府立大学, 文学部, 教授 (80128769)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): HASEGAWA Masayo 高知大学, 人文社会・教育科学系, 講師 (30423867) ; SASAKI Shoji 京都府立大学, 文学部, 教授 (30135496)
• Project Period (FY): 2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
• Keywords: 比較文化 / カルチュラル・スタディーズ / 国際京都学 / 京都イメージ / イギリス文化

Outline of Final Research Achievements

The travel writings and articles on Kyoto, with their pictures and photos, produced by British tourists in Meiji period, are valuable resources for knowing Kyoto of the time, but this study takes them up to analyze also those elements which influenced their views of Kyoto.
One of the contributions this study made is the digging up of a number of travel writings by unknown British tourists referring to Kyoto. By reading into those writings we revealed the reasons why they longed for Japanese traditional ways of life which they sought in Kyoto, or why they criticized certain aspects of Kyoto. Although some of the tourists showed insightful observation, their views of civilization, the city, and religion, as well as the ideology of the day, often influenced their experience of Kyoto, including sightseeing, visiting of famous temples and shrines, shopping, appreciation of arts and crafts, and theaters.

Free Research Field

比較言語文化